[Satellite TODAY 02-23-10] SpaceX’s debut Falcon 9 launch vehicle is now vertical at its Cape Canaveral, Fla., launch facility, the company announced Feb. 22.
    The Falcon 9 rocket was rolled from SpaceX’s integration hangar to the launch pad, where final checks of the pad hydraulic and pneumatic systems were completed. The Falcon 9 is undergoing a series of critical flight connection checks, including fuel, liquid oxygen and gas pressure systems. 
    SpaceX plans to perform a full tanking test of the first and second stages followed by a brief static fire test of the first stage, the company said.
    SpaceX will use the Falcon 9 to perform three flights of the Dragon spacecraft under NASA‘s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services contract to demonstrate delivery of cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) as well as returning cargo to Earth. Following those flights, SpaceX will begin the NASA Commercial Resupply Services contract, conducting a minimum of 12 cargo flights between 2010 and 2015 with a guaranteed minimum of 20,000 kilograms to be carried to the ISS.

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